A B.C. man has been seriously wounded after he was hit by stray bullets in Mazatlan, Mexico, his family says.

Mike DiLorenzo, 69, was walking by a shopping centre in the city on the country's west coast at 1:30 p.m. MT Sunday when men opened fire with AK47 automatic assault rifles, a family member told CBC News.

DiLorenzo's family told the station the target of the shooting was a young man on a motorcycle, but DiLorenzo and another local woman were struck by the stray bullets.

The B.C. man underwent surgery for a severe gunshot wound to the leg, the family said.